Today we’d like to introduce you to Skip Nguyen.
Hi Skip, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Over a decade ago, I was helping out at my family’s Vietmanese restaurant in California. Years later, I met my now wife and that’s when I decided to move to Houston. Her Brother in law, David Tu, who was also a good friend of mine had an idea to open a second location of his family’s restaurant (Dan’s Seafood & Wings). In 2018, I made the move and David and I together opened Dan’s seafood and Wing’s 2nd location. I operated Dan’s for over 3 years before I brought up the idea of rebranding and doing my own twist on our menu. With the combined knowledge that I was lucky enough to have learned from my family while helping out at our Vietnamese restaurant in California and everything I’ve learned from my southern family while operating Dan’s Seafood & Wings. And that’s where the name South By Saigon came from. Dan’s has help me learned to utilize southern spices and flavors while my family’s recipes holds deep Vietnamese roots.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Just like every other business, there are smooth days and there are days with many obstacles that we have to overcome. A big challenge we had to overcome was the Covid era. As we were only one year in business trying to build our name and customer base, the pandemic hit. It was difficult to stay afloat as a business, but we persevered and was able to come through as a team. There are also other day-to-day obstacles such as robberies and harsh weather conditions, such as flooding and freezing. Despite all of the triumph, in the end, it’s exciting to overcome each situation.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I take care of the day-to-day operations. From taking orders and bussing tables to prepping dishes, whatever is needed from me, I’m there. But what I enjoy doing most is working on new recipes and cooking every dish that our customers enjoy. I love seeing our customers enjoy the dishes we put our hearts into.
What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
The most important lesson I’ve learned along my journey is how to have compassion and understanding for the day to day struggles that our team members may be going through while not being too lenient to where it may cost us the quality of our operations. Learning how to motivate employees while addressing situations rather than condemning them to their mistakes is one of the most important lessons I’ve learned throughout the years.
Pricing:
- $9.99 Lunch Specials (Mon-Fri 11am-3pm)
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/southbysaigon
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/southbysaigon
